Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rocks and Minerals

For Teachers 3rd - 7th
Review the difference between rocks and minerals using this resource. Learners identify and investigate the physical properties of these objects. They create a Venn diagram to compare and contrast types of rocks. This is a motivating way...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You Ain't Nothin' But a Rock Hound

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
Here is an excellent lesson on rocks! In it, learners explore the world of rocks through the use of video, hands-on activities, and cooperative projects. This outstanding plan is chock full of terrific activities, websites, streamed...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Sediment Sleuths

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Are you looking for a good, solid lesson on sedimentary rocks? This one, produced by the Illinois State Museum, is just such a lesson. Middle schoolers identify common rocks and minerals by analyzing sediments from local water sources....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

You've Got to Be Cool to Make Igneous Rocks

For Teachers 7th - 9th
Young scholars describe how igneous rocks are formed, design a classification system to group igneous rocks and develop a controlled experiment to prove that the rate of cooling affects the size of the crystals.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Classify Rocks

For Teachers 6th - 7th
Students classify different types of rocks. In this earth science activity, students test different rock samples and construct a chart to record observations. They create a concept map that answers essential questions.
Lesson Plan
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Investigation 2 - Classifying Rocks

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders identify basic properties of minerals and rocks. They access websites and utilize worksheets imbedded in this instructional activity to further their understanding of rock classification.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Exploring Rocks

For Teachers 3rd - 4th
Pupils collect and examine rocks. They record information about the rocks they have collected in their notebooks. They compare and contrast different rocks and complete a class chart at the end of the lesson.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Rock Cycle SIOP Unit

For Teachers 5th - 10th
Students collect rocks, identify them, classify them, investigate their properties, and more. For this rocks lesson plan, students also experiment with soil and erosion and weather.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Making Predictions

For Teachers 8th - 11th
Students collect and classify items. In this making predictions lesson, students go outside and collect specimens of plants, insects and minerals. They classify each item and place them in a Venn Diagram. Students compare and contrast...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

For Creative Minds

For Teachers 4th - 6th
Students study pictures of plants, animals, and minerals. Students classify the pictures into the three groups. In this rock identification lesson plan, students complete a rock finding lab experiment by finding, cleaning, identifying,...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Earth's Surfaces

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
Students identify and define geology and earth surface vocaulary and their meanings to classify rocks and explore caves and their properties. Students find rocks and test them according to Moh's scale. They create a color coded earth...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animals, Animals, Everywhere

For Teachers 4th
Fourth graders participate in a variety of activities dealing with animal characteristics and classifications in this multi-task lesson. They use graphic organizers, make booklets, and make models.
Lesson Plan
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Watershed Landscape

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students demonstrate how water flows by building a human watershed using themselves. In this ecology lesson, students compare and contrast point-source and non-point source pollution. They write what they have learned from this activity...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

LESSON PLANS (print version) pdf What is a Fossil?

For Teachers 4th - 8th
Students can better explain how mould and cast fossils occur when they make their own cast fossils using plaster of Paris and objects such as shells, bone or even their own hand or footprint.